Lost Memory
by Silwyna
Summary: After an accident Neil loses his memory.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Odyssey 5. The characters and the universe of Odyssey 5 do not belong to me. I make no profit from this story.

**Lost Memory**

**by Silwyna**

"There is nothing here, Kurt, let's go home." Neil called out for what he felt must be the hundredth time. They had been searching the area for a hidden Sentient lab for hours. So far they hadn't found one sign that it really existed.

"It has so be here somewhere." Kurt insisted and kept searching the ground.

Sighing Neil looked around himself. They were in the middle of nowhere. The Sentients had to be crazy to built a lab here. It had took them three hours to get here by car and they had needed another hour walking through the forest to reach this place. And there was nothing to see but trees, grass, some bushes and more trees.

"Maybe this guy who told you about this was just plain crazy. He sure looked that way." Neil tried again.

"He might have looked crazy, but what he said made a lot of sense. It has got to be here."

Neil rolled his eyes and kept searching. He was convinced there wasn't anything here. "You know, I had this great date planned with Holly. She's not gonna like it if I have to cancel it. Again!" He looked expectantly at Kurt but got no respond.

After about another hour he called out to Kurt again. "How much longer ..."

Suddenly the ground beneath him gave in and he fell into a deep hole. It all went so fast he got no chance to grab at anything to stop his fall. The last thing he heard was Kurt calling his name before everything around him turned black.

XXXXXXX

Kurt was just about to interrupt Neil's new complaint when he heard him cry out. Startled he looked up just in time to see Neil disappear in some sort of hole. Quickly he ran over there, calling out for his friend.

"Neil ... Neil, can you hear me?" He knelt beside the hole, careful not to break in either. The hole was so dark inside that he couldn't see a thing. "Are you all right? Neil?"

When he didn't get a respond he ran back to his backpack that lay a few meters away. There should be a flashlight in there. When he found it he shone inside the hole. He could see Neil laying on the ground of what seemed to be some kind of cave which must be at least six meters deep. He wasn't moving and he was bleeding on the head.

"Neil" He called out again, but he still got no reply. Cursing Kurt pulled out his mobile phone to call help. When he got someone on the other line he quickly explained what happened and where they could be found. When he finished the call he looked down the cave again. Neil still hadn't moved.

"Neil, I called help. Just hang in there, okay? Help is on the way."

XXXXXXX

It took the Rescue party over three hours to arrive and another half hour before they had Neil stabilized enough to get him out of the cave. When Kurt saw him laying on the stretcher he looked so pale and lifeless that he was afraid he would be dead. But one of the medics assured him repeatedly that he was alive and that they had stabilized him enough that they should get him to the hospital without problems.

Nevertheless Kurt decided to leave his car and drive with the ambulance. He didn't think he was capable of driving now and also he didn't want to leave Neil out of his sight. He prayed that he would be all right again. He had been here just because Kurt had insisted that they would follow this lead. Neil would be sitting safe at home by now if it hadn't been for him.

XXXXXXX

Almost six hours after Neil fell into that hole they finally arrived at the hospital in the next town and Neil was rushed into an examining room immediately. There was nothing else for Kurt to do than wait for anyone to tell him about Neil's condition.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually Angela and Sarah arrived at the clinic.

"Kurt, what happened?" Sarah called out worried. All that Kurt had told them over the phone was that there had been an accident and that Neil was in a hospital in Greenbary, which lay about two hours from Houston.

Startled Kurt looked up at his friends. He had been so deep in though he hadn't even noticed them coming closer.

"He .. He fell into a hole, it was a cave or something and ... I ... I don't know, he just lay there and he was bleeding. He lay there for hours before they got him out and ... he was cold as ice by then ... I ..." Kurt stammered. He was clearly still in shock over what happened.

"Are you alright?" Angela asked as she knelt before him and took his hands in hers. Kurt just nodded and stared at the floor.

"I thought he was dead. When he didn't answer ... He wasn't moving ..."

"He will be alright." Sarah said confidently. "He's strong. He will get through this." She had sat next to him and now put her arm around his shoulders to give him some comfort.

They stayed like this for a while until a doctor approached them.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Jackson. Are you here for Neil Taggert?" He asked.

"Yes." Kurt said immediately. All three had jumped up at the sight of the approaching doctor. "How is he?"

"Are you related to him?"

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. This doctor had to be kidding. He was just about to start yelling when Sarah started talking.

"We're friends of the family. His mother is dead and his father and brother are on a vacation. We haven't been able to reach them yet. Neil was staying at my place until his father was supposed to return." Sarah told the doctor. Kurt was amazed how she could lie like this without even so much as a wink. He figured it came with the job.

"Well, in that case ..." Dr. Jackson had obviously believed her. "Mr. Taggert has a severe concussion. So far he has only regained consciousness for a short time and he appeared very confused a the time. We're hoping that he will be less confused when he wakes up again. He also has two broken rips and a broken leg. He was also slightly suffering from hypothermia, probably due to the long time he lay motionless in that cave." He paused for a moment to let these news sink in.

"When will he wake up?" Kurt wanted to know, the concern evident in his voice.

"That is hard to tell. I'm hoping he will regain consciousness within the next 24 hours but I can't make any promises."

"Can we see him?" Sarah looked hopefully at the doctor.

"Of course, his room is down this corridor, second door to the right." He showed them the right direction and then left them alone again.

XXXXXXX

When they entered the room they were all shocked at the fragile and pale appearance of Neil. He had an IV on his arm and was hooked to several monitors. Silently they all took a seat around his bed and waited for him to wake up.

After the first ten hours Sarah had to leave. She had been away from her own son for far too long, so Kurt and Angela were left alone with Neil.

Angela had noticed how Kurt grew more anxious every minute. He had hardly spoken a word and held tightly onto Neil's hand as if the mere contact between them would prevent Neil from slipping away any further. He also hadn't let him out of his sight once since the moment they had entered the room and he seemed oblivious to anything that was going on around him. She doubted he had even realized that Sarah had left.

"Why don't you take a break, Kurt? Get something to eat. I'll stay here until you come back." Angela tried to pull him out of his daze. When he didn't reply she repeated her question a bit louder.

"What?" Kurt looked at her confused.

"Why don't you get something to eat. I'll wait here." She said again.

"No, I can't leave him." Kurt said determinedly.

"Kurt, he's save now. He ..."

"I'm not leaving." Kurt glared at her for a second before he looked at Neil again. Suddenly he put his head in his hands. "What am I going to tell Chuck if ..."

"He will be fine, Kurt. And don't worry about Chuck. If he would care about his son he would have at least called a few times to check on him." Angela interrupted him in a bitter voice. She still couldn't understand that Chuck had left Neil – and all of them for that matter – just like that.

XXXXXXX

It took another five long hours but finally Neil began to stir slightly.

"Neil." Kurt immediately moved closer to his young friend, trying to help him regain consciousness. After a while Neil slowly began to open his eyes.

Relieved Kurt smiled at him. "Hey, welcome back."

"Hey Neil." Angela greeted him. "You had us worried here for a while."

Neil looked at them confused, then he started looking around the room. "Where am I?" He asked in a weak voice.

"You're in a hospital. You fell into a hole, remember?" Kurt explained quietly.

Neil slightly shook his head and winced at the sudden pain stabbing through his head.

"Try to lay still. You have a pretty bad concussion as well as two broken rips and a broken leg." Angela told him carefully. She didn't want to worry him, but she figured it would be better if he knew what was wrong with him. This way he wouldn't try to move quickly and therefore inflicting more pain on himself. If he was even capable of moving, she thought when she looked at his week appearance.

When Neil closed his eyes again, Angela thought he had slipped back into unconsciousness. The more surprised she was to see his eyes suddenly open again.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice hardly audible.

"What?" Angela looked at him stunned, before she glanced at Kurt. He looked as surprised as she.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Kurt asked him worried.

"Neil closed his eyes again as he tried to think of an answer. When he opened them again, he looked at them scared. "I ... I don't know .. I don't remember anything."

"I better get the doctor." Angela said and quickly left the room.

XXXXXXX

They had to wait about half an hour before Dr. Jackson approached them. They had to stay in the waiting room again while Neil was examined.

"What is wrong with him?" Angela asked him.

"It looks like he's suffering from amnesia. He can't remember anything, not even his name." Dr. Jackson explained them.

"Is there anything we can do?" Angela asked helpless.

"You can tell him everything you know about him, answer his questions. Hopefully his memory will return with the time."

"And what if it doesn't?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Then he will have to live with what you tell him. I'm afraid there is nothing else we can do."

Dr. Jackson left Kurt and Angela alone again to see after another patient.

"So what do we do now?" Angela finally broke the silence between them.

"We tell him everything he needs to know." Kurt replied determinedly.

"Everything?"

"Well, we should probably wait with the more complicated matters." Kurt sighed.

XXXXXXX

When they returned to Neil's room they found him asleep. Seeing him unconscious again worried them immensely but a nurse, who was checking his vitals, assured him that that was absolutely normal. He was still very weak and needed his rest.

"We should get something to eat while he's sleeping." Angela said.

Sighing Kurt gave in this time. Now that he knew that Neil was out of danger he started to feel hungry and tired. "Let's go. And if we still have time we should get my car back. It's still standing in the forest."

"Let's wait with that until tomorrow. I think we're both too tired to drive now."

Kurt nodded and together they left to get something to eat and find a room for the night. None of them wanted to go back to Houston before Neil was feeling any better.

XXXXXXX

The next day Neil already had regained some strength and he was able to stay awake for longer times. But he still had no idea who he was.

"Hey Neil, good to see you're awake." Angela smiled at him when she and Kurt stepped into the room.

"Hey ..." Neil said hesitantly. He remembered them both from yesterday when he woke up but other than that he had no clue who they were.

Kurt and Angela noticed his uneasiness and introduced themselves.

"I'm Angela Perry and that's Kurt Mendel. We are friends of you." She told him with a warm smile.

"Oh, uhm, hey ..." Neil stammered. He had no idea how to respond to that. He figured he didn't have to introduce himself when they were friends. They should know his name.

"Has Dr. Jackson told you anything ... about you?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Not much other than my name." Neil replied.

"Well, do you have any questions?" Angela looked at him expectantly.

"Uhm, I don't know ... Maybe you could just tell me something ..." His voice trailed off. He felt so helpless. He couldn't remember a thing, so how the hell was he supposed to come up with any questions.

"Okay, let's see ..." Kurt began. "You're ... 17 and you live in Houston, Texas. That's in the United States ..."

"I remember Houston." Neil called out. "Well, I remember it's a town and where to find it on a map, but I don't remember any special places." He added in a disappointed voice.

"Well, that's a start." Kurt smiled. "At least you haven't forgotten everything."

"No, just the important stuff." Neil sighed.

"Hey, it's very important how to find Houston." Kurt joked. He was relieved to see Neil smiling. It was only a small smile and it didn't last very long but it was a start.

"Okay, what's more ..." Kurt went on. "You're a Highschool student ... at the moment. And you ..." He paused for a moment. He wasn't really sure if they were helping him at all if they only told him half the truth. On the other hand, telling him that he traveled back in time five years to safe earth which destruction he had witnessed while being in a space shuttle probably wasn't such a good idea either. So he stuck to the plan and only told Neil about his first 17 years.

"You have a girlfriend. Her name is Holly. At least you were still together when we last spoke about her." He let out a short laugh. Neil and Holly broke up and got together again on a regular basis.

"What about my parents?" Neil suddenly asked.

"Your parents ... uhm ..." Kurt struggled to find the right words.

"Your mother passed away a few weeks ago. Her name was Paige." Angela helped him out. She spoke in such a soft voice as Kurt had seldom heard her use. "Your father, Chuck, is traveling around since then. Her death took him pretty hard. We tried to call him but so far we haven't been able to reach him." She paused for a moment and cleared her throat. "You have an older brother. His name is Mark. He left the day of the funeral. He ... had some problems and I guess it was all just too much for him."

"So I'm all alone?"

It broke her heart when Neil asked this question. She could see the pain in his eyes. She silently cursed Chuck Taggert. Even when Neil had no memory at all of his father he was still able to hurt him.

"You're not alone. You still have your friends ... And with your friends I mean us." Kurt added. He wanted Neil to understand that as long as they were around he wold never be alone.

Angela threw a surprised glance at Kurt. Since Neil had his accident she saw a whole new side in him.

Neil stayed silent for a while as he tried to understand all these new information. It felt weird, hearing about all these people and not even knowing what they looked like. He even had a girlfriend. Even though that was nice to know the fact that she could walk into this room right now and he wouldn't even recognize her was very frustrating.

"Give yourself time, Neil. It will all come back to you eventually." Angela tried to assure him.

"Yeah ..." His response wasn't very convincing.

"Your father works for the NASA. He's an astronaut, as is Angela here by the way. Your brother tried to get in too, but he failed." Kurt paused for a second and waited for Neil to say something. When he stayed quiet Kurt went on. "Your mother didn't have a job, but as far as I know she had a lot of social projects running. Helping old people, things like that. She was a very nice woman."

"How did she die?" Neil wanted to know.

Neither Kurt nor Angela had any idea how to respond to that. They could hardly tell him the truth – that his mother had been controlled by some sentient creature and had therefore tried to kill a senator – Angela's father – before this creature had finally killed her.

"It was an accident." Was all Angela managed to say. There was always time for the truth later.

Neil sensed that they were hiding something from them. He may not remember anything about them but he wasn't stupid. They were obviously withholding information from him.

"Was it her fault?" He finally asked after a few moments of silence.

"No, not at all. Your mother did nothing wrong. It was just ... a stupid accident that should have never happened. It was no ones fault." Kurt told him. He knew that Neil had felt partly responsible for what had happened to his mother and he had struggled hard with that. If possible Kurt wanted to keep that pain and the blame away from Neil for as long as possible.

Neil suddenly felt very tired. He tried to stay awake but Kurt and Angela could see he had problems keeping his eyes open.

"Get some rest. We'll be back later." Angela told him with a warm smile. That smile was the last thing Neil saw before he fell back asleep.

Tbc

A.N.: I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Exhausted from the long drive, Chuck closed the front door behind him. He had only come home to get some new clothes, but he felt so tired right now, that he decided to stay the night. He didn't think he could stay here longer than that. Everything in this house still reminded him of his new wife and those memories were just too painful.

When he stepped into the kitchen he saw his son leaning on the counter. The first think he noticed about Neil was the bad looking bruise on his forehead and the cask on his right leg. Then he saw the scared expression in Neil's eyes when he saw him.

"What happened to you?" He asked surprised.

Neil just stared at him for a moment. "Kurt?" He finally called out. He had no idea who this man standing right before him was.

"What's up?" Kurt said as he stepped into the kitchen.

Without saying anything Neil pointed at the man he had never seen before in his life. Or had he? This was getting more and more frustrating every day. It has been a week since his accident and he still couldn't remember anything. He had hoped that when he would get released from the hospital and would return home that his memory would start coming back. But he had been back for hours now and nothing – not one thing looked familiar to him.

"Chuck." Kurt said surprised. This was the least he had expected.

"Hey. What happened?" Chuck asked again, pointing at Neil. He was slightly confused about his son's strange behavior. They had never been really close but Neil had never been afraid to be alone in the same room with him.

"Uhm, Neil, that's your father. Looks like his trip is over." Kurt forced himself to smile. The truth was he couldn't feel more uncomfortable. He had no idea how he was supposed to explain to Chuck what happened to Neil.

Neil stiffened at Kurt's words. "Oh ..." He wasn't really able to say more. Just another hope that blew up. He had hoped that he would at least recognize his father when he came home. But not even that had happened. He looked like a complete stranger.

"What is going on here?" Chuck asked. He was getting more and more confused. Why was Kurt introducing him to his own son?

"Chuck, why don't you sit down. Uhm, there is something you should know ..." Kurt began. He wished Angela or Sara would be here right now.

"Just spit it out." Chuck ordered impatiently. He looked back and forth between Kurt and Neil, waiting for an explanation.

"I have amnesia." Neil explained dryly. "That's why I don't know who you are. I can't remember a thing."

Chuck stared at him in shock.

"Oh, and I have a few broken bones. Apparently I fell into a hole. You have to ask Kurt for more information about that since I obviously don't remember that either." Neil added in a bitter voice.

"What?" Chuck choked out. He finally decided to sit down after all. This was more than he could handle right now.

"We were camping in the forest and Neil stumbled into this ... well, hole." Kurt stammered. Angela and he had come up with this story to give at least some explanation for what they were doing in that forest. They could have hardly told Neil the truth.

"You were camping?" Chuck asked confused. Neil hated camping.

"Neil, why don't you go into the living room, you should give your leg some rest. I'll explain everything to your father." Kurt said before Chuck could say anything else.

"Okay." Neil said hesitantly. Again he had that feeling that Kurt was trying to keep something from him.

When Neil had left the kitchen, Kurt turned to Chuck.

"You're all right?" He asked quietly. Chuck looked a bit pale after hearing all this about his son.

"What happened?" Chuck asked after a few seconds.

Kurt let out a deep breath. "We were looking for a sentient lab in the woods, about three hours outside of Houston. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but suddenly the ground beneath Neil gave in and he fell about six meters down. It was some kind of cave, I didn't get a good look on it. Neil was unconscious and when he woke up again hours later in the hospital he had no memory at all." Kurt let this information sink in a few moments before he went on. "We only told him the necessary things. So far we left out anything about Sentients and time traveling. We figured that would be a bit too much at first. We had hoped that his memory would come back after a few days but ..." His voice trailed off. It was obvious that that hadn't happened.

"Is it permanent?" Chuck wanted to know.

"No one knows. The doctor said it could take a few days, weeks or months before he remembers anything. Or he might never get his memory back." Kurt looked down on the floor as he said those last words. He still blamed himself for what happened to Neil and right know he wasn't strong enough to look Chuck in the eyes.

"It's probably best if you'd stick to our story. You know, about the camping and all." Kurt finally broke the silence between them.

"Yeah, that's probably best. He won't be able to help us anyway without any memory of what happened" Chuck said quietly.

Kurt cleared his throat. "Yeah ... So are you going to stay?"

Surprised Chuck looked up. He hadn't even thought about that. Only a few moments ago he had thought that he couldn't stay in this house for more than a night. But how could he leave now? "Of course I'm staying." He finally said determinedly.

XXXXXXX

After Kurt had went back to his apartment a few hours later, Neil and Chuck sat silently in the living room.

Neil was watching some family photo albums. He looked at the pictures, trying to remember anything, but all he could see were strangers smiling at him from the pictures.

With a frustrated sigh he put the album next to him on the couch.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." He told his father and got up.

"Do you need any help?" Chuck asked.

"No, thanks." Neil hesitated a second before he slowly walked to his own room. He wasn't sure how to act around his father. There seemed to be a distance between them and he didn't think that was just because of his memory loss. He figured they didn't have the best relationship before. That would explain why his father left for his trip alone. Or maybe he had refused to come with him? If only he could remember.

XXXXXXX

Chuck had tried for hours to get some sleep, but he kept thinking about his son. Would he still be okay if he hadn't left? He knew it had been selfish to just leave Neil alone. But at the time he had just seen Neil as a 22-year old man, who had been living on his own for some time before the Odyssey 5 mission. But Kurt was right – 22 years wasn't really that much older than 17.

Suddenly he heard a scream coming from Neil's room. Startled he quickly jumped out of his bed and ran over to Neil to see what happened.

He found his son sitting upright in his bed, trembling all over.

"Neil, what happened?" He asked worried.

Trying to regain his composure again, Neil took a few deep breaths before he answered his father. "Just a bad dream. I'm sorry I woke you." He said in a shaky voice.

"That's okay." Chuck reached for Neil's hand, but hesitated before he took it. He had never been that close with his son. Noticing his fathers hesitation, Neil pulled his hand back and rubbed over his tired eyes. Immediately Chuck felt a stab of guilt. "What was the dream about?"

Neil let out a long breath before he answered. "It was weird. I saw my mother. At least I think it was her. I called her mom, so ... She ran out of the house and I called after her but she didn't stop. Then I saw her with a gun in her hand. I tried to stop her, but ... but I came too late. And when she pulled the trigger, I ... I don't know, I was in some kind of space shuttle and I looked down on earth. Then I heard the shot and the whole planet just exploded. That's when I woke up." Nervously Neil looked down on his hands. "It was just a crazy dream."

Chuck sat silent for a while and looked thoughtfully at his son. Maybe it was time to tell him the truth? But where was he supposed to start?

"I'm fine ... Dad." Neil hesitated a second before he called his father "Dad". This man was still a total stranger to him, it felt strange calling him that. "You can go back to bed, really."

"You sure?" Chuck looked worried at his son. "I could stay here until you fall asleep."

"No, that's not necessary, really."

As the trembling had stopped, Chuck decided it was best to leave his son alone and went back to his own bedroom. He didn't think though that he would get any sleep soon. Now he had another worry. Should he tell Neil the whole truth? Or would it be best to just let him believe he was a normal 17 year old teenager for a while longer? Somehow the last option made Chuck feel more comfortable. Not because he was convinced that it would be best for Neil, but because Neil never had been a normal 17 year old teenager. Before he had turned into an A-Student he had taken drugs – Chuck didn't even want to know what kind of drugs that had been – and he had drank way too much alcohol. Then, after Mark had run away, he had studied so hard, that he had lost most of his friends – including his long-time girlfriend. Neil had lost his teenage naiveté much too early. Now he had a chance to get that back, even if it was only for a short time.

And Chuck had a chance to rebuild his relationship with his son before it was too late. He knew that Neil had always worked hard to make him pride. But no matter what he did, it had never been enough for him. The only thing Neil had ever asked of him, and he had refused him that. This time he would make sure that Neil knew how proud he was of him.

Tbc

A.N: I hope you like this chapter. If so, let me know, I'm always happy about feedback. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Neil was having breakfast, when someone knocked on the front door. As his father had left to buy some groceries, Neil opened the door.

"Hi, can I help you?" Before him stood a young woman, probably his age. He had no idea who she was, but right now that didn't mean much.

"Can I help you? You bastard!" The woman yelled at him as she slapped him in the face at the same time.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Neil called out surprised.

"My problem? First you blew our date and than you don't even call. It's been a week. If you want to break up with me, tell me. But don't act like such a coward!"

"Oh, uh, why don't you come in?" Neil stuttered. Hadn't Kurt mentioned something about a girlfriend? Well, he figured he had just met her.

"I don't want to hear any lame excuses." Holly stared at him angrily.

"Well, you might want to hear this one." Neil smiled uncomfortably. When he grabbed for his crutches he had leant on the wall before he opened the door, Holly noticed for the first time that he was injured.

"What happened to you?" she asked in an already calmer voice.

"Why don't we sit down first. Uhm, do you want something to drink?"

"I want to know what happened!" She replied determinedly.

"Okay, I don't remember." Neil stated dryly.

"You don't remember what? That we had a date? That I'm your girlfriend? You really are one ..."

"I don't remember anything." Neil cut in. Then he explained quietly what had happened. He hoped she would believe him. He knew that his story sounded strange, but it was the truth. He couldn't tell her anything else.

"You hate camping." Holly looked at him in disbelief.

"Well, I don't know about that. But I was camping. And I fell into that stupid hole and now ..."

"Now you don't remember anything." Holly finished for him. "Do you remember me?" She asked hesitantly after a moment.

Neil bit his lip. He knew his answer would hurt her, but lying wouldn't make much sense. "I'm sorry. I don't remember anyone. I didn't even recognize my father." He shrugged apologetic.

"Considering your relationship with your father, that doesn't mean much." Holly replied dryly.

"What do you mean?" Neil looked at her confused.

"Well, your relationship with your father never was the best." Holly explained.

"Oh ..." Reflecting on the little time he had spend with his father, that didn't surprise him. "How bad was it?"

"You really want to know? This could be your chance for a new beginning with him." She wished she had never brought this subject up.

"Just tell me."

"Okay ... most of the time you were more fighting than talking. You were angry at your father for never being around and treating Mark like his favorite son and your father was angry at you for drinking too much alcohol, smoking pot and coming home way too late at night on the weekends ... and sometimes even during the week."

Neil stared at her for a few moments. "This is even worse than I thought. ... I smoke pot?"

"Yes, every weekend." Holly grinned at him. "And it's not as bad as it sounds."

"No wonder we don't get along." Neil looked down at his hands, lost in his thoughts.

"Well, I'm sure that he's not quite that innocent in all this. You know, you are different than most of the other guys we hang out with. You're actually pretty smart. I think you just do all this to get your father's attention."

Neil looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, are you a psychology student or something?" He chuckled.

"I might consider study that should I ever get into college." Holly smiled. "First I have to get through highschool."

"Yeah ..." Again Neil looked down at his hands. For a moment he had thought that he remembered her being a college student. But they were still in highschool. His mind was playing tricks on him. Yet he couldn't get the image out of his head.

"Are you okay?" Holly asked worried. "You look a bit pale all of the sudden."

"Huh? No ... yes, I mean ... I'm fine." He stuttered.

"Maybe you should get some rest."

"Yeah, maybe I should."

When he didn't say anything else, Holly got up. "I let myself out. Is it okay when I come by later the day?"

"Yes, sure. I'll look forward to that. I guess you can tell me a lot of stories about me ... us." He said smiling.

"Oh yes, I can. See you later." She bent down to give him a kiss, but stopped when she noticed him flinch at the sudden close contact. Disappointed she stepped back.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry. I guess we both have to get used to this new situation." She gave him a warm smile and left.

XXXXXXX

Shortly after Holly had left, Chuck returned home. He found Neil sitting in the living room, deep in thought.

"Hey, I'm back." He called out to his son. When he met Neil's eyes, he was shocked at the sadness, confusion and hopelessness in his eyes. "What happened?"

Neil stayed quiet for a moment. "Why did you go on this trip alone?" He finally asked.

"What?" Chuck looked at him confused.

"After Mom's funeral, you and Mark left. Why was I the only one who had to stay?"

"You didn't _have_ to stay. You just didn't want to go away. I guess you're stronger than Mark and I were." Chuck said quietly.

"I don't feel strong." Neil whispered in a shaky voice.

"You are, believe me. I may not have always seen that in you, but the last few months ... I have been very proud of you." Chuck went over to his son and sat next to him on the couch. He regretted that he had never told his son this before. He reached for Neil's hand and this time he didn't hesitate to take it. "I'm very proud of you, son."

Angry Neil pulled his hand away. "What are you proud of? That I smoke pot? That I drink alcohol and stay away all night? I don't care why I did this, but it's nothing to be proud of." Neil yelled at him.

Stunned Chuck looked at his son. "Did you remember anything?"

"No. Holly came by and told me. My own girlfriend stood before me and I didn't even recognize her. I don't recognize anything. Not you, not this house, the clothes I wear, nothing! I wouldn't even remember my own name if Kurt hadn't told me. When I look in the mirror, there's a stranger looking back at me." Neil had gotten so agitated, that he didn't even notice the tears that were rolling down his face. Exhausted he leant back against the couch and closed his eyes. He just wanted to shut out everything. He suddenly wished he had never woken up in that hospital. Than he wouldn't have to go through this nightmare.

"Neil ..." Chuck was at a loss of words. He wanted to help his son, but he didn't know how. He couldn't give him his memory back. When he had told him that he was proud of him, he had meant every word, even though he hadn't realized that before. "Neil, you're not that person anymore that Holly described you to be. You ... you have changed a lot ... in the last months. You turned into a man that I'm really proud of."

"What do you know? As far as I know we weren't even really talking. All we did was fight." All energy had drained out of Neil's voice and he had hardly spoke louder than a whisper.

Chuck wanted to tell him that that wasn't true, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Neil was right. They had done nothing but fight. All the time Neil lived in this house and later when they were working together for NASA they were fighting. And in the time in between they had hardly talked at all.

"Neil ..." He started again.

"Just leave me alone." Neil interrupted him and got up. After he grabbed his crutches he left as fast as he could.

Tbc

A.N.: Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this chapter. If so, please review. :-)


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since Neil's outburst. Neither he nor his father had approached the subject again. Chuck had often thought about talking with Neil about that day, but had always postponed it again. Neil seemed to be doing fine – except the amnesia of course. He told himself that maybe his son had just needed to get it all out.

Yesterday the cast from Neil's broken leg had been removed. He still needed his crutches, but he enjoyed his new gained freedom nevertheless. Today he was supposed to get back to school. Chuck had discussed long with Neil's doctor if this wasn't too early. But the doctor had insisted that taking Neil out of school for too long would do more harm than good.

So today was Neil's first day in school and he was accordingly nervous. He still didn't remember anything. He had no idea who his friends were nor did he remember his teachers or what they were talking about in classes at the moment. Holly had done her best at getting him up to date, but she had given him so many information at the same time that he had already forgotten half of it.

His father had offered do drive him to school and now they were sitting in his car in front of the school building.

"Nervous?" Chuck asked quietly.

"Yeah." Neil sighed.

"If you think it's too early, you don't have to start today. You could ..."

"I doesn't matter when I start, Dad, tomorrow it will be as hard as today." Thoughtfully Neil looked at the building. "Maybe in there I get some of my memory back. I'm going to meet all my friends again, perhaps that's helping."

"Yes, maybe." Chuck didn't really think it would help. Those people hadn't been Neil's friends for years. But that was just another thing he couldn't tell him. And the truth was, he didn't really know how many people from his highschool years Neil had stayed friends with over the years. Maybe there were one or two ... Maybe Neil was right and getting back to school would help him get his memory back. "Well, good luck then." He said smiling.

"Thanks." Neil forced himself to smile back and got out of the car. He hadn't gone far away from his father's car when he saw Holly coming towards him with a big smile plastered on her face.

"Welcome back to school of hell." She greeted him and gave him a welcome hug. He still felt uncomfortabe being so close to her. But he didn't want to disappoint her. She had been a huge help – or at least she had tried – those past few weeks and if a little hug made her happy, he wasn't going to take that from her.

"That bad?" Neil replied smiling.

"Well, it's highschool, nothing good to say about that. Come on, I show you your locker."

On their way to Neil's locker, Holly told him about most of the people they passed by. Again it was too much at the same time and Neil began to mix up the names with the faces very quickly. Already he wished he had taken his father's offer to come back here later. He didn't think he would survive a whole day like this.

"Here it is." Holly cut into his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh great, thanks." Hesitantly Neil stood in front of his locker. He couldn't remember the combination to open it. Just another thing he forgot, he thought frustrated.

"It's 200769. I saw you open that locker a hundred times. And thanks to my photographic memory I never forget anything." A young man, about Neil's age, had approached them unnoticed from behind and welcomed Neil with a short pat on the back. "Hi, I'm Kelsey. We know each other since kindergarten. I know you don't remember me. That's okay. This way I don't have to give you back those 50 bucks I owe you." He added grinning.

"Now you do." Neil replied laughing. He already liked Kelsey. He didn't remember him, but he could well imagine that he had been friends with him.

"So, how's your first day?" Kelsey asked.

"Well, it's all new. I hoped I would remember something, but ..." His voice trailed off.

"Don't worry. It will come back. I did some research on the internet. In almost every case the memory comes back. It just takes a while sometimes."

"Kelsey is our computer expert. He's even better when he works with this brother. Where is he, by the way? I usually don't see you two separated." Holly asked.

"Bodanis ... that's my brother," Kelsey said to Neil, "... is down with the flu. Knowing my luck, I'll get it right after him. I have about three more days before I get sick. It's always the same. We're twins, you know. One would think we would get sick at the same time, but no, I always get sick exactly three days later."

After their first meeting, Kelsey stayed with Holly and Neil for the rest of the day. He had noticed fairly early that all this new information was too much for Neil and stopped Holly when her talking got out of hand. Neil really enjoyed having Kelsey around. He didn't feel the pressure that everyone else put on him. Kelsey didn't expect him to remember anything about him. He had simply accepted the fact that Neil had no memory of him anymore and moved on from there.

Surprisingly Neil had no problems following the classes. Sometimes he had the feeling that he even knew more about this school stuff than the other students. Maybe he was some kind of super student, he thought grinning to himself. When it was time for lunch, he already felt that coming back to school today hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

When he, Holly and Kelsey sat in the cafeteria eating lunch, they were approached by a young woman.

"Hey, uhm, Neil Taggert?" She asked shyly.

"Yes, at least that's what everyone is telling me." Neil replied jokingly.

"Uh ..." She was apparently at a loss for words.

"Was there anything specific you wanted?" Neil asked.

"Yes, well, uhm, Principle Adams asked me to help you out with ... everything, you know. School stuff ... because of your amnesia. I'm Julie, by the way, Julie Kensington. I'm the new confidence student for this year."

"Hi, uh, that's ..." Neil started.

"That's really sweet of you, Julie. But Neil already has all the help he needs." Holly interrupted him.

"Oh, of course, I didn't mean to imply that ... uh, it's just that Principle Adams ..." Her voice trailed off and she looked helplessly at Neil.

"Why don't you sit down. There's always room for one more." Neil smiled at her warmly. He felt sorry for her. She looked as lost as he felt at the moment. "This way you can tell Principle Adams that we at least talked."

"Okay, thanks." Julie replied relieved. "I'm really new at this _job_. I didn't even want it in the first place. I just got it because of my grades. Mr. Adams said that with my influence I might actually get some more people through highschool. And it feels good to help. I always ..."

"Yeah, you're the perfect picture student." Holly interrupted her sarcastically.

When Julie looked like she would start crying any minute, Neil felt even more sorry for her. He didn't understand why Holly was being so mean to her, she seemed like a nice girl, a bit strange maybe, but still nice. "Come on, it's nice of her to help others. And I'd be really grateful if you'd help me out. At least when I have another stupid question, I know who I can come to." He smiled at Julie comforting.

"You can always ask me." Holly replied quickly, the jealousy clearly audible in her voice.

"I know that. And that's great. I have you, Kelsey and now Julie. The more the better." Neil looked at Kelsey for help. He figured they should talk about something else before this turned into an ugly fight between the two girls. He couldn't understand why Holly was so upset. Julie was really just trying to help.

"Hey Neil, why don't you come over after school? If you're not afraid of catching the flu, I could introduce you to my brother. We could hang out a bit. You can drive with me. My car just got back from the garage and is as good as new." Kelsey had obviously read Neil's thoughts.

"Sounds great. I just call my Dad that he doesn't have to pick me up after school." Neil replied gratefully for the change of subject.

"Okay, it's a deal than. Holly, you want to come too?"

"Yes, sure." Holly replied, smiling. But her smile quickly faded at Kelsey's next question.

"What about you, Julie?"

"What? Me? Oh, uhm ... yes sure." Julie answered, beaming with joy.

XXXXXXX

The afternoon went by quickly and Neil had enjoyed every second of it. Both Kelsey and his brother, Bodanis, acted natural around him and since Julie hadn't known him until today, he was actually able to forget about his amnesia for a few hours. Only Holly brought back the memory of it a few times. It was just the little things, like when she took his hand in hers. Those little intimacies only reminded him that he still didn't know anything about their shared past and he still hadn't been able to feel anything more for her than friendship. He felt bad about that as he could see clearly that she had deeper feelings for him. But despite that, the afternoon was great and he was in a really good mood when Kelsey drove him home.

"Hey Dad, I'm back." He called out.

"You're late." Chuck replied earnest when he saw his son stepping into the living room.

"Yeah, we kinda got carried away. Kelsey and Bodanis showed me this awesome new program they invented. Those guys are amazing. I mean, I know I'm good with computers, but they ... they are geniuses." Neil chuckled. "And Julie knows a great deal about that stuff too. Once we started talking, we didn't even realized how fast the time went by. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"So you were just hanging before the computer? Nothing else?" Chuck asked. The whole afternoon he had been worried what Neil might be doing.

Neil felt taken aback by his father's question. "Don't worry, we didn't drink any alcohol nor did we take drugs." He replied coldly. "I still got homework to do. I'm in my room." Without waiting for his father to respond, Neil turned around and left.

Chuck cursed himself. Apparently, Neil hadn't forgotten about their talk two weeks ago. Whatever Holly had told him, he still remembered it. And he probably still felt as if Chuck held those things against him. He needed to talk with Neil. Somehow he had to made it right that even though Neil had changed and turned into the son he had always wished for, he had never forgiven Neil for the mistakes he had made in his youth. And he should do it fast. He was afraid that without his memory, Neil would fall back into old habits.

XXXXXXX

Angry Neil sat in his room. Two weeks ago his father had told him that he was proud of him and that he had changed. And just now he had implied that Neil had lied to him. His father was telling him a bunch of lies and that angered him even more. He didn't know who he was supposed to believe. He knew that Kurt and Angela hadn't told him the truth about their _camping trip_. Everyone else who had heard the story had told him how much he hated camping. So why would he want to do it all of the sudden? And Holly ... she kept telling him about this great relationship they had, but he felt nothing. If he had loved her before his accident, these feelings should still be there. He might have forgotten about her, but his feelings – he still knew he loved his father, even despite their disagreements and he still had these warm feelings for his mother even though she wasn't around anymore to remind him of her. But Holly – there was nothing. A sudden memory flashed through his mind.

"If you don't love me anymore, just say so. You spend more and more time away from me, you keep forgetting our dates ... You are like this whole other person. I don't even know you anymore." Holly yelled at him.

"Holly, please, I'm trying, but ..." Helplessly Neil looked at his longtime girlfriend.

"You know what, I don't want to hear it. It's over, you hear me? That's what you want, isn't it? You're free to do whatever you want."

"Holly, please ..."

But she didn't listen to him any longer. She quickly turned around and ran away. Neil watched her leaving. He had wanted to tell her that is wasn't true, that he still loved her. But the truth was, he was relieved it was over. Whatever his feelings for Holly had been, he didn't feel that way for her anymore.

A stabbing pain in his head pushed the memory off Neil's mind. Groaning he held his head and laid down on his bed. He had remembered something. But it made no sense. Holly had told him they were still together. Everyone had told him that. But this was a true memory, he was sure of that. They had broken up because he didn't love her anymore. She had told him so herself. And yet she acted like everything was okay between them. Just another damn lie.

His head was still hurting badly. He thought about going downstairs and getting a pill, but decided against it. He would just ran into his father again and he wasn't interested in any more of his stories. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. Maybe, if he concentrated hard enough, he would remember anything else. But no matter how hard he tried, no other memory would come back to him. Eventually he fell asleep.

Tbc

A.N.: Blue Eyed Dragon Girl, Tai and lapdance22, thanks for your reviews. I love getting feedback :-) I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I hope you haven't lost interest in this story. Tai, I agree with you, I think the show deserved a chance to show how good it really is. Unfortunately it never got that. Thank you for reading and please keep reviewing. :-)


	5. Chapter 5

„_Mom?" Confused Neil watched how his mother stormed out of the house and ran off. What had happened? Had his father done something? If he was still under the influence of this "skin", he might have scared her. "Dad?"_

_Suddenly he was surrounded by people. They were all screaming and trying to get out of the room. He saw his mother standing a few feet away. She was pointing a gun at Senator Perry. Neil tried to reach her, to stop her from pulling the trigger. But moments before he was able to reach her, he found himself inside a space shuttle, looking down on earth. Suddenly he heard the shot – his mother had pulled the trigger – and he saw the earth exploding._

"No!" Trembling Neil woke from his nightmare. Again he had the same dream. It was the same as every night since he woke up in that hospital. He pulled his arms around himself to stop the trembling and after a few minutes, as the horrors of the dream slowly faded away, he got calmer and laid down again.

He thought about his dream. Why was it coming back to him every night? Why was he dreaming something like that? It made no sense. He closed his eyes again but the images from the exploding planet still flashed through his mind.

XXXXXXX

Still rattled Neil stepped into the kitchen the next morning. His father was already enjoying his morning coffee while reading the newspaper. Just when Neil wanted to say something, a stabbing pain in his head stopped him. Images began flashing through his mind. He saw his father walking towards him, eyes cold as if he didn't recognize him. Before Neil knew what was happening his father had grabbed him at the throat. Neil struggled hard to get free, but as he couldn't take any breaths, his strength quickly faded. He could hear Kurt yelling from behind and eventually his father threw him on the floor.

"Neil ... Neil!"

When Neil opened his eyes, he saw his father kneeing beside him, worry evident in his eyes. But Neil didn't see the worry, he just kept seeing the cold stare his father had send him in his ... was it a memory?

"Let go of me!" He called out and tried to get away from his father.

Stunned Chuck stepped back. "Neil, what's wrong?"

Neil just stared at his father. What did just happened? Did he really remember that his father had tried to kill him? He got up from the floor – he hadn't even realized falling down – and left the kitchen. He could hear his father calling for him from behind, but he didn't stop. Without knowing where he should go to, he left the house and just kept walking. He wanted to run, but his still injured leg hindered him.

XXXXXXX

Still stunned Chuck stared at the empty space his son had left. What did just happened? Neil had been terrified by him. He tried to think about anything that might have scared him, but he just couldn't come up with anything. He had just sat there, drinking his coffee and reading the paper. Why would that scare him?

He thought about following his son, but decided against it. He would wait until Neil had calmed down and then try to talk to him. Worried he sat down again and took another sip of his coffee. But only minutes later the worry got too much and he decided to call Kurt. Neil shouldn't be alone right now. Maybe Kurt could talk to him.

He waited for Kurt to pick up the phone. When he finally did, he quickly explained what happened. Kurt immediately agreed to call Neil on his mobile and meet with him.

XXXXXXX

Neil had agreed to meet Kurt in the diner. After they had both ordered a cup of coffee, Kurt asked Neil what had happened this morning.

Hesitantly Neil looked down at his hands before he replied. "I don't know what happened. I think I'm remembering something, but ..." His voice trailed off.

"What did you remember?"

"I don't even know if it's really a memory. I ... Did I ever tell you that I broke up with Holly?" He suddenly asked.

"Uh, no, not that I remember. Why?" Kurt was surprised at the sudden change of subject.

"I remember ... I think I remember breaking up with her. It seems so real. But she keeps telling me about our great relationship. I can see she has feelings for me, but I ... there is nothing. I see her as a good friend, but not more. If I felt that way before, it would make sense that we broke up."

Kurt knew immediately what Neil was talking about. He really was remembering – just in the wrong chronological order. How was he supposed to explain to him that he did break up with Holly, only Holly didn't know anything about it yet?

"Did my mother really died in a car accident?" Again Neil's question took Kurt by surprise.

"Why do you ask?"

"This might sound stupid, but I keep having this dream ... It's always the same. I see her with a gun, shooting at someone. I'm not sure if this really is more than a dream though, because the rest of it definitely is just dream material."

"Why don't you tell me about the rest?" Kurt asked quietly.

"It's just some sci-fi nonsense I probably saw in a movie once. I'm in a space shuttle and watch the earth exploding. And right before that I see my mother with the gun. So I'm probably just mixing something up. It's just ... this morning ..."

"Yes?" Kurt asked, glad that they finally got to talk about what happened this morning.

"When I came into the kitchen and saw my Dad, I ... I had this flashback or something and ... he came walking towards me and than ..." Suddenly he could feel the pain in his head again. Groaning he held his head in his hands. Again memories came flashing back at him. He was in Kurt's apartment and Kurt pointed a gut at him and Angela. They were fighting and ...

"Neil, what's wrong?" Kurt asked worried. He could see that Neil was in pain.

Terrified Neil looked up. He was trembling all over and for a moment he could do nothing but stare at the man sitting in front of him.

"Neil?" Kurt asked again. Something was clearly not right.

"I gotta go." Neil mumbled and as fast as he could he got up and walked out of the diner.

Worried about him, Kurt quickly followed him. He threw some money on the table to pay for their coffees and left the diner. He reached Neil a few meters down the street and grabbed his arm. "Neil wait. What's wrong?"

"Let go!" Neil snapped at him and pulled his arm free.

"Neil, what happened? Did you just remember something?"

"I remember nothing. Just leave me alone." Neil said determinedly and kept walking. When he saw a free cab, he quickened his steps and jumped in. He pushed the door close in front of Kurt and told the driver to leave quickly. He made up some story that Kurt had tried to rob him. He wasn't sure if the driver believed him, but he drove away quickly nevertheless.

XXXXXXX

"Damn!" Kurt swore as he watched the cab driving away. Neil had clearly remembered something and it had scared the hell out of him. Why else would he run away? The same had probably happened that morning. He tried to think of what he might have done in the past that would scare Neil. Then he remembered the time he had been slightly delusional due to a lack of serotonin after the attack of his "self-made sentient". He had threatened Neil, Angela and Sarah with a gun and when Neil had tried to overcome him, he had hit him unconscious. And he remembered how Chuck had been infected with those sentient nanobots. They had changed his behavior radically up to the point that for a short moment Chuck hadn't recognized his son and had tried to strangle him.

If Neil had remembered those moments – and everything pointed to that – then it was no wonder he had freaked out. But he had to find him. If Neil thought that both his father and himself had tried to kill him, he surely wasn't returning home any time soon. As he had no idea where to look for him, he went to his own car and drove to the Taggert house to talk to Chuck.

XXXXXXX

Chuck listened stunned to what Kurt was telling him. He had completely forgotten about the day he had attacked Neil. No wonder his son was afraid of him. "We have to tell him everything. It was a mistake to wait."

"Well, we have to find him first. Any ideas?"

"You probably know my son better than I do." Chuck thought for a moment. "Maybe he went to those twins? He went there yesterday after school He felt pretty comfortable with them."

"Do you know their names?" Kurt remembered them from the time they had to borrow some super computer the twins had invented to kill some crazy computer program, but he just couldn't remember their names.

"No, I don't." Chuck was as clueless.

"What about Holly?" Kurt asked.

"If Neil thinks she lied to him about their relationship, then I don't think he'd go to her." Chuck shook his head. He had no idea where to look for his son.

"No, but she might know the twin's names. You have her number?"

"No, I don't even know her last name." Chuck hated to admit that he knew almost nothing about his son's life.

"Then we just have to drive around and look for him. I call Angela and Sarah, maybe they can help."

"Okay." Chuck replied hopelessly. Houston was a big town – Neil could be anywhere.

XXXXXXX

Neil had only enough money with him to pay the cab driver for a 10 minutes drive. When he got out, he had no idea where he was supposed to go now. He didn't want to talk to Holly. For all he knew she had lied to him too. And Kelsey and Bodanis ... He trusted them but who knows? They hadn't told him about his break up with Holly either. If he really broke up with her. Maybe he was just losing his mind.

He was just about to give up hope, when he saw Julie Kensington walking towards him. Relieved he watched her coming closer. She hadn't known him before his accident and for now she was the only person he felt he could trust.

"Hey Neil, what are you doing here?"

"That's a long story. Do you have a few moments?"

"I have the whole day." Julie smiled at him. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"I'm fine. I just ... Can we talk someplace quiet?"

"Sure, there's a park around the corner ..." Julie suggested.

"Okay."

XXXXXXX

A few minutes later they both sat on a bench in the park and Julie waited patiently for Neil to tell her what was bothering him.

"You know I have amnesia, right?" Neil looked at her hesitantly.

"That's why Principle Adams asked me to help you." Julie reminded him.

"Right. The thing is – everything I was told, I'm not sure if it's the truth. I mean, I know that I'm really Neil Taggert, I saw my passport, but other than that ..."

"Why would they lie to you?"

"I don't know. But you just have to look at my accident. Kurt and Angela told me it happened while we were camping. But everyone tells me I hate camping. And Holly ... she keeps talking about our great relationship, but I have these flashbacks that we broke up. And my Dad ..." His voice broke and he wasn't sure if he should continue.

"What about him?" Julie tried to get him to keep talking.

"I ... I keep seeing him, in flashbacks, I think ... and he ... I think he tried to kill me. And Kurt too ... I mean Kurt was pointing a gun at me. And I keep seeing my mother shooting at someone. I know it sounds crazy. I don't know what to believe anymore ..."

"Maybe you should talk to the police?"

"And if I'm wrong? I don't have any proof that it really happened." He said desperately.

"Well, if you're right than you can't go home." She paused for a moment. "My parents are out of town, you could stay at my place."

"Really?"

"Of course. I told you I want to help you." She smiled at him warmly.

"Thanks." Neil returned her smile. For the first time today he felt safe.

Tbc

**A.N.: Blue Eyed Dragon Girl thanks for your review, I'm glad you enjoy this story. Thanks to everyone for reading this chapter and please review. :-)**


	6. Chapter 6

„Nice house." Neil said when he and Julie stepped into the living room. They had come to Julie's house right after their talk to the park.

"Thanks." Julie said hesitantly. "Uhm, can I get you something to drink?"

"I already made you enough trouble. I'm fine thanks." Neil smiled at her gratefully.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'm glad I can help you." When she saw a pained expression flash through Neil's face, she remembered his still injured leg. "Does it hurt?" She asked, pointing at his leg.

"Only a little bit." Neil admitted.

"Why don't you lie down on the couch. I make us something to eat and in the meantime you can rest your leg."

"I can help you." Neil suggested. He didn't feel comfortable just lying around while she made them lunch.

"Yes, but than you wouldn't be able to rest your leg." Julie laughed. "Just lie down and relax. You deserve it."

Still uncomfortable Neil sat down on the couch. When Julie was sure that he would really rest his leg, she went into the kitchen.

Waiting for Julie to return, Neil looked around the room. There were family pictures all over the wall. When he couldn't identify Julie on any of them, he got up to take a closer look. And really – there was not a single picture from her in the room.

"Hey, I told you to rest, not to run around the room." Julie called when she stepped back into the living room.

"Why aren't there any pictures of you?" Neil asked her.

"What? Oh, uhm ..." She laughed nervously. "That's stupid, really. I ... I don't like pictures of me. As soon as I see a camera near me, I ran."

"I'm sure you would look nice on a photo. I mean, you look nice in person, so ..." He blushed and didn't know how he was supposed to continue.

"Thanks." Julie said, giving him a warm smile. "I made us pizza, it should be done in about 20 minutes. Here's some iced tea if you like."

"Thanks." Neil took the offered glass and took a big sip. He suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty he was.

"Feeling better?" Julie asked, smiling.

"Yeah ..." Neil replied yawning. He suddenly didn't only feel hungry and thirsty, but also very, very tired. He noticed how his eyelids fell close every once in a while and he struggled hard to stay awake. "I'm sorry. I'm just so tired ..." His voice trailed off and his hand holding the glass suddenly felt very heavy. Julie quickly took the glass out of his hand before it fell to the floor.

"It's okay. Just sleep. This day must have been pretty exhausting for you." Smiling Julie watched how Neil fell into a deep sleep within seconds.

XXXXXXX

When Neil woke again, it was already late at night. Disoriented he tried to recognize his surroundings. At first he had no idea where he was, but when his eyes had accustomed to the darkness around him, he noticed that he was lying on a couch. Then he remembered where he was – Julie's home. He must have fallen asleep.

"Shit!" He mumbled. How embarrassing was that. Julie had been so nice to invite him to her home and even prepare something to eat and he fell asleep right away. What a great way to say thanks.

"Good, you're awake." Julie smiled.

Her voice startled him as he hadn't known she was still in the room. "Oh hey, uh, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened ..." His voice trailed off. He really didn't know what had happened. He didn't even remember being tired when he came to her house. He must have been more exhausted than he thought.

"Don't worry. Do you feel any better now?"

"Yeah, I do." He lied. He didn't feel any better at all. He still didn't know what he should do. He couldn't stay here forever; Julie's parents would eventually return. And he couldn't go back home as long as he didn't know for sure if those memories about his father and Kurt were real our just his vivid imagination. Sighing he looked at Julie. He could hardly see her in the dark. "Why didn't you turn the lights on?"

"I like sitting in the dark. And I didn't want to disturb you. I figured you needed your sleep. I can turn the lights on if you like."

Neil was just about to decline that offer. If she felt better in the dark ... but when he looked around himself and could hardly see anything, he suddenly didn't feel very comfortable. "Yeah, that would be nice." He mumbled. He felt like a little child who couldn't sleep with the lights off.

He could hear Julie getting up and walk a few feet. She didn't seem to have any trouble finding her way in the dark. When the lights flashed on, his eyes hurt at first at the sudden brightness, but he got accustomed to it soon.

"Better?" She asked.

"Yeah, thanks." He smiled at her gratefully. "Why didn't you go to bed? I mean, you didn't have to wait here."

"I just didn't want to leave you alone. In case you got nightmares ... or something. Are you hungry?"

"What? Uh, no. Thanks."

"But you haven't eaten anything all day. You must be hungry."

"Well, I guess it's because I slept all day. I'm never very hungry right after I wake up." He smiled uncomfortably. Somehow Julie's behavior seemed strange to him.

"Okay."

There was an awkward silence between them and Neil thought desperately of something to say. "Aren't you tired? I'm fine here, you really can go to bed."

"I much rather stay with you." Julie replied.

Neil cleared his throat while he thought about what he should reply to that. He liked having Julie around, but right now he'd rather be alone to get a clear mind. But he couldn't tell her that. This was her house. If she wanted to stay here, he couldn't say anything against that.

Hesitantly he sat on the couch. Then he had an idea. "Why don't we switch places. You could lie down on the couch and get some sleep. I'm not tired anymore, so I'm fine with the chair."

"I'm not tired either. And you still have to rest your leg. So you keep the couch."

"Come on, you have to be tired. You've been up all night watching over me. And my leg had enough rest."

A look of uncertainty flashed over Julie's face. "Okay ... I'll try to get some sleep. But wake me if you need anything." She finally said hesitantly. Then she walked over to the couch and Neil got up to make space for her to lie down.

"Sweet dreams." He smiled at her.

"I never dream." She replied earnest.

"You just don't remember. Everyone is dreaming. You want me to turn the lights off again?"

"No, it's alright. Leave them on, I don't mind." Julie replied. Then she closed her eyes.

Neil hated to admit it, but he was glad the lights stayed on. He really was acting like a child if a little darkness was already scaring him like this. But the dark brought unpleasant memories back – he began to wonder if he had any good memories at all, as he had only remembered the bad things so far.

_He was lying on the ground, hurting all over. He tried to open his eyes, but it was too much effort. He had no idea for how long he had been lying here or how he had ended up being here. He could hear someone calling for him. The voice sounded familiar but he didn't know who it belonged to. He wanted to call back, call for help, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. He could feel how he slipped back into the darkness, but only seconds before he was succumbed by it all, he got the strange feeling that he was being watched from people standing close to him._

The memory made him shudder. He remembered the feeling when he was lying in the cave, hardly conscious. His whole body had been hurting. And he remembered the feeling of being watched. Not by Kurt, who at his own account had never let him out of sight until the rescue team had arrived. But by someone – or something – else. He remembered whispered voiced around him ... What if he hadn't been alone in the cave?

He closed his eyes to shut out the memories. He couldn't think about something like this now. Not when he was still worrying about his own father trying to kill him – or not.

He looked over to Julie, watching her regular breathing. Despite her words, she must have been very tired as she seemed already to be asleep. He wished he hadn't told her to get some sleep. He really could have used someone to distract him from his returning memories. Desperate for any kind of distraction, he reached into his pocket to get his mobile. Maybe his father or Kurt had left him some messages. He had turned off the phone as he didn't want to speak with them but he could at least listened to what they had to say – if they had left a message.

When he couldn't find the mobile in his pocket, he searched all his other pockets, but he couldn't find it in any of them. He thought about where he had used it the last time. It had been in the cab where he had turned it off. Had he left it there? He was fairly certain that he had put it back in his jacket, but it wasn't there. He decided to use the Kensington's phone to at least check his mailbox. He didn't think Julie would mind. But when he picked up the receiver, he didn't get a ringing tone – the phone was dead.

XXXXXXX

In the meantime, Chuck sat frustrated in his car in front of his house. They had searched all day for Neil, but they hadn't found him. He had driven to his son's school to talk to Holly. She hadn't heard from him either and had already worried why he hadn't come to school. Chuck hadn't told her anything specific and had only asked for the twins. She had given him their number, but when he had called them, they hadn't heard anything either.

When he had ran out of places to look for his son, he had returned home, hoping that Neil might have returned. But all lights were out and the house looked empty even from the outside. Chuck let his head sink down on the wheel. Why hadn't he told Neil the truth about their past? Why couldn't he have just been honest with him? For weeks he had thought that it would be better to tell him everything, but he had always postponed it. He had waited too long. Now Neil had all those memories that he couldn't understand. He was confused and somewhere out there, still hurt by his accident. Chuck didn't even want to think about all the things that could have happened to his son. Once again he wished that Paige was still here. She would have known what to do. She would have done the right thing. She would have never scared Neil out of the house. But Paige wasn't here and Neil was now the only family he had left. He didn't know what he was supposed to do should anything happen to him. He had thought that losing Paige was the worst that could happen. Now he knew he had been wrong.

He was just about to lose all hope, when his mobile rang. Without looking at the number, he picked up. "Neil?" He called hopefully.

"No, Mr. Taggert, this is Kelsey. Uh, this might sound a bit weird, but ... Well, after you told me Neil had disappeared, I ... Well, I checked some things out and .. don't ask me why, I'm not even sure myself, but ..."

"Just spit it out, Kelsey." Chuck impatiently interrupted him.

"I checked some of our friends, on the internet. I also checked Julie Kensington. I'm not sure if Neil told you about her ..."

"He mentioned a Julie, but he didn't say much. What about her?"

"Well, she doesn't exist. At least I couldn't find a single document about her in any official files. And the only Julie Kensington that has ever been on our school is already 49 years old."

Chuck needed a moment to comprehend what Kelsey had just told him. "Do you think Neil might have gone to her?" He finally asked quietly.

"It's possible. She's the only one he knows that hasn't known him from before his accident. And if what you say is true and some strange memory has spooked him, than she might be the only one he trusts right now."

"Can you give me the address of this other Julie Kensington?" Chuck asked.

"Sure." Quickly Kelsey told him the address.

"Thanks." Without another word, Chuck hung up. Then he quickly dialed Kurt's number.

"Did you find him?" Was the first thing Kurt asked when he saw Chuck's number on his mobile's display.

"No, but I might have a lead. He met this girl in Highschool, Julie Kensington. Kelsey, one of the twins, ran a background check on her. The only Julie Kensington who ever was on Neil's school is 49 years old. So whoever that girl is, she's not Julie Kensington. And I have a bad feeling that Neil might be with her."

"You got the address?"

"Yes." Chuck gave him the address.

"Okay, I meet you there."

XXXXXXX

Hesitantly Neil looked back and forth between the phone and Julie. Something wasn't right here, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He suddenly wished he had never ran into her.

"Who do you want to call?" Julie asked him, eyes still closed.

Startled Neil looked at her. "Uh, no one. I just wanted to check my mail box. I couldn't find my mobile ... You're phone isn't working."

"I know."

A bad feeling started to spread in Neil's stomach. "I thought you were asleep."

"I told you I don't need sleep."

"You sure looked like you were sleeping."

When Julie suddenly opened her eyes, Neil was startled by the suddenly cold look in them.

"You don't need to check your mailbox. No one important is going to call you."

Neil didn't know what to reply to that. Julie's behavior seemed so strange all of the sudden. What happened to the nice girl from this morning? "Maybe I should go. I troubled you enough already."

"No! No, I don't want you to go." Her voice sounded softer at the end. "Please, I told you I want to help you. And I don't like being alone in this house."

"You don't like being alone in the house, but you don't mind sitting around in the dark?"

"Why do you keep questioning me? I'm only trying to help you." She looked at him angrily.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just ..." He closed his eyes for a moment and took some deep breaths, trying to clear his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Julie standing right in front of him. He hadn't even heard her come closer.

"I don't want you to leave." She said determinedly.

The cold look in her eyes hadn't vanished and Neil suddenly felt afraid by her. He just wanted to get out of this house as fast as he could.

"I have to leave. There are some things I have to do. You were right, I should talk to the police about my memories. Maybe ..."

"No!" Julie grabbed him at both arms and hold him tightly. "You're not leaving!"

Neil tried to get out of her grasp, but she was stronger than she looked. A lot stronger ... A stabbing pain flashed through his head and he saw images of a small woman, walking straight towards him. She didn't look very strong, but when she had reached him, she grabbed him and threw him several feet away. Then he saw her doing the same to his father. She wasn't human...

When the pain faded away, he found himself sitting on the floor, Julie kneeling beside him. "I didn't want to hurt you. Are you okay?"

Without giving her a response, he pushed her against a nearby cupboard, got up quickly and ran out of the room. He found himself in a kitchen with only one other door – leading to the cellar. He knew that Julie was right behind him, so without hesitation he opened the door and closed it quickly behind him. He thanked every god in existence when he found a key to lock the door. He could hear Julie pounding on the door, yelling for him.

"I won't hurt you. Please open the door."

Neil didn't waste any time listening to her and ran down the stairs, ignoring the pain in his leg. It was dark in the cellar, so he looked for a switch to turn on the lights. When he found it and the lights flashed on, he wished he hadn't turned it on. Right before him lay the bodies of man and a woman, probably in their late forties. And there was blood everywhere.

Neil swallowed down the bile that was starting to rise in his throat and stepped over the two dead bodies. There was nothing he could do for them anymore. From the looks of it they had been dead for days. He knew he had to find a way out of here quickly if he didn't want to end like they had.

He frantically searched the room, but there was no other exit to be seen. There was only a small window, but he would never be able to squeeze through that. His heart froze when he heart the door to the cellar burst and steps coming down the stairs.

Tbc

**A.N.: ****Blue Eyed Dragon Girl****: I never liked Holly much either ;-) Thanks to everyone for reading and please review :-)**


	7. Chapter 7

Terrified Neil looked around for anything to defend himself with. He could hear the steps coming closer fast. His eyes fell on a baseball bat and he quickly grabbed it. When he turned around, Julie was standing only a few feet away from him.

"Stay away!" He yelled at her.

"Neil, I don't want to hurt you. Why don't you believe me?" Julie asked quietly.

"I bet that's what you told them." Neil said, pointing at the two bodies. He tried to hide the panic that he was feeling.

"They had to die. It couldn't be changed. But everything I did, I did to protect you."

"Protect me?" Neil yelled. "You ... you're holding me prisoner in this house. That's not my idea of protection."

"I needed to show them some results. They were starting to lose patience." The expression on Julie's face was almost desperate.

"They? Who are they?"

"My people. When they saw you in that cave, they wanted to grab you, to get the information out of you. We need to know why you are fighting us, Neil, how you found out about us. We couldn't get to you in that cave, your friend was always watching you and we didn't want to warn them. So they send me to become your friend. But ... I started to like you and ... I thought if I could gain your trust, you would tell me all your memories. And you did. You do trust me."

"I did trust you. That was before you turned into a crazy maniac." Neil replied, the fear now evident in his voice.

"I told them I needed more time, but they weren't listening. They wanted me to inject you with a drug that would bring back your memories. You would have told us everything we needed to know, only you wouldn't remember it later. But you would have remembered that I injected you with something and I couldn't ...And I knew you would have never let me inject you the drug voluntarily, that's why I gave you sleeping pills."

"What? You ... you drugged me?" Neil interrupted her. He should have known something was wrong when he was starting to feel tired all of the sudden.

"It was the only way. You have to believe me. I really just wanted to protect you." Julie said. She almost looked like she would cry any second. She started to slowly walk towards Neil.

"Stay away from me!" Neil yelled again, holding the bat higher.

"Neil ..." Julie began, but was interrupted by an angry voice from behind.

"Stay away from my son!" Chuck Taggert yelled. He had arrived only minutes ago. Kurt and Angela had already been waiting for him before the house.

Julie didn't turn around, she just kept looking at Neil. "Who do you trust more, Neil? The man who tried to kill you? Or me? I never hurt you. I ... I love you."

"Neil ..." Chuck desperately tried to get his son's attention.

"Shut up!" Neil shouted in a panicked voice. He didn't know what to do. He felt like he was surrounded by enemies.

"Neil, please. You know you can trust me."

Looking back and forth from Julie and his father, Neil slowly let the bat think. He wanted to believe her, but right now he wasn't sure if he was thinking clear. Smiling Julie walked a few steps towards him. She had almost reached him, when three shots rang through the air. Shocked Neil stared at Julie as she sagged down to the floor. He could see the shot wounds on her back, but it wasn't blood coming out. Instead there was some sort of blue liquid pouring out of the wounds. Terrified he could do nothing but stare at her.

"Neil, step away from her." Chuck said quietly as he walked to his son. Even though the girl looked dead, one could never be too sure with the sentients. And seeing the blue liquid coming out of her wounds, it was clear she was one.

Horrified Neil looked from Julie's body to his father. Chuck could see the fear in his son's eyes.

"Neil, it's okay, you're safe now." Chuck tried to calm him.

"No ..." Neil whispered as he backed away from his father. Seeing that his son was still afraid of him, Chuck stopped walking towards him. He thought about the right words to stay, but Angela was faster than him.

"Neil, you remember me, right? I never lied to you. I know you have some confusing memories, but there is an explanation for everything.

"You told me we were camping. I hate camping!" Neil yelled at her. He had reached the wall and couldn't back away any more. There was no where to go for him. With panic in his eyes he stared at the three people in front of him. He didn't know who he should trust any longer.

"We had to come up with something quickly. The truth just sounded ... too weird at the time. But we will tell you everything now. I promise. And then you will understand ..."

"No!" Neil screamed. Then he was hit with the stabbing pain in his head again. Holding his head in pain, he sagged to the floor, letting the baseball bat slip from his hand. All kinds of memories came flashing back to him, too many to really comprehend any of them. He thought he was going crazy with all the images in his mind.

Seeing his son's agony, Chuck quickly walked to him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Everything will be all right again, Neil, I promise you. It will be okay ..."

Neil fought the embrace at first, but as the pain in his head got stronger, he didn't have the strength to fight back. He let himself sink in the strong arms of his father, who hold him tightly, trying to ease his pain. When the pain finally got too much, Neil gave in to the darkness that was starting to surround him and slipped into unconsciousness. Helpless Chuck watched how every sign of life drained from his son.

"We gotta get him out of here." Angela said. Nodding Chuck pulled his son up and carried him out of the house. Neil was dead weight, but Chuck didn't care; he wouldn't let go of him now. He declined Kurt's offer of help; he had promised Neil that he would be safe and he wouldn't let anyone get near him, not even Kurt or Angela. When Neil would wake up, he would only see his father at his side, no one else.

It took them only a few minutes before they stepped out of the house and went to their cars. Carefully Chuck laid Neil on the backseat of Kurt's car and sat himself next to him, holding him tightly. Angela took Chuck's car and they quickly drove away.

"Maybe we should get him to a hospital." Kurt said worried. Neil still lay quietly, not moving or responding to anything. "He's in shock. If it gets worse ..."

"No, we get him home. This whole thing started in a hospital. When he wakes up, he needs to be in surroundings he knows." Chuck said determinedly. He wasn't sure if this was the right choice, but he knew that getting Neil to a hospital wasn't the right one.

XXXXXXX

For hours Chuck had sat next to Neil's bed, waiting for any sign that his son would wake up. He already had his doubts if it had been a good idea to bring him back home instead of a hospital. But he wanted Neil to wake up in surroundings he knew. He wanted Neil to feel safe when he opened his eyes – Chuck didn't think he could bear to see the look of fear in his son's eyes again.

An hour later Chuck was close to call for Kurt, who was still waiting in the living room with Angela, to help him get Neil into hospital after all, when his son's eyes fluttered open. Neil glanced around the room in confusion first until his eyes fell on his father.

"Dad?" He whispered.

"I'm here son." Chuck said relieved.

"How did I get here? What about Julie?" Neil searched the room frantically with this eyes, expecting to see her standing in some corner. He tried to pull himself to a more upright position, but his head swam at the movement and he felt the stabbing headache returning. Groaning he let his head fall against the wall behind behim, but he didn't lie down again. "I would give my right hand for an aspirin right now."

"I thought you might need some." Chuck replied smiling, handing him a glass of water and a pill against the headache. "Julie is dead. You don't have to worry about her anymore."

Both stayed silent for a moment and Chuck watched his son intently. He looked pale and exhausted. He wished there was anything he could do.

"Feel better?" He asked after a while.

"I've been better, but I'll be okay." Neil said quietly. He looked thoughtfully at his father.

Chuck couldn't even begin to describe the relief he felt at seeing no fear in Neil's eyes.

"Dad, I think I remember everything ... or almost everything. It was stupid to think you wanted to kill me. I know now ... I'm sorry." Neil looked down at his hands, embarrassed that he thought his father would ever hurt him.

"You don't need to apologize, Neil. What you did and thought was understandable. We ... I should have told you the truth about everything right from the start." Chuck replied ruefully. Neil would have never ran away and right into the hands of that sentient bitch if he had known the truth.

"So, it's all true? The space shuttle, destruction of earth, sentients ..." Neil looked hesitantly at his father. He was half hoping that those images were just the result of his vivid imagination. It would be a lot easier.

"Yes, it's all true." Chuck said quietly.

They both stayed quiet for a while again. It was Chuck who broke the silence first. "Neil, I ... I know I scared you away eventually because I didn't tell you the truth about our past. And I ..."

"Dad ..." Neil wanted to interrupt him, but Chuck stopped him.

"No, let me finish. I know you didn't fully trust me even before those memories came back. And I ... I know that was my fault. We never had a real father/son relationship. At least not a good one." He cleared his throat. "I want to change that from now on." Chuck added determinedly.

Neil looked surprised at his father. He had never seen him like this before. "Okay." He eventually said quietly.

"Okay." Chuck smiled at his son. He suddenly noticed how exhausted Neil looked. "Get back to sleep, son. You're going to need your rest."

"Sounds like a good idea." Neil replied yawning. He was already lying down again, when he remembered something. "Dad, what about the lab?"

"The lab?"Chuck looked at him confused.

"Kurt and I were looking for it in the woods before my accident."

"We'll take care of that tommorrow. I think we all need a break today."

"Okay." Neil didn't waste another thought on the sentient lab and closed his eyes again. He was asleep only seconds later. Chuck watched his sleeping son for a while. He promised himself that his time he would work hard on his relationship with Neil. They only had each other now. He hoped it wasn't too late.

The end

**A.N.: I'm so sorry for the long delay. Real life hindered me from posting this earlier. Thank you all for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Lapdance22, Tai and especially Blue Eyed Dragon Girl, thank you so much for your reviews. It was very encouraging to know that people actually like this story. :-)**


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